Go to → Cayenna Ponchione-Bailey

New electronics, field recording and string orchestra piece with pecq (fka Limpet Space Race) , a duo mishmashing pop, jazz, prog and diy electronics, and the internationally-acclaimed Orchestra of St John’s. 'Reaching Water' is the second in ‘We Are Water’, a series commissioned by Cayenna Ponchione-Bailey in collaboration with climate and water researchers. The piece draws on water security research from University of Oxford’s Dr Catherine Grasham in Ethiopia’s Awash River Basin. Inspired by stories from her interviewees, Limpet Space Race’s composition explores the increasingly long journeys faced by many people around the globe, as climate change makes their access to water more difficult. The string orchestra interweaves with modular synth manipulation and a sample from one of Dr Grasham’s interviews with a farming community from Ethiopia’s Fentale District which translates ‘You have to travel long distances to find water, it’s very tiring’. The piece also includes samples of water sounds submitted in the response to the project, encouraging participants to think about their own water consumption, and the connection between climate change and global water security. The piece was recorded and filmed with the Orchestra of St John’s and Limpet Space Race in July 2020 at OVADA Warehouse, a rare example of socially-distanced orchestral recording. CREDITS An Upcycled Sounds Production and Release Commissioned by the Orchestra of St John’s In collaboration with Dr Catherine Grasham, researcher for REACH: Improving water security for the poor, led by the School of Geography and the Environment at the University of Oxford Composers Limpet Space Race (Hannah Jacobs and Nicholas O’Brien) Performers Electronics, synths and field recordings - Limpet Space Race Orchestra of St John’s: Conductor - Cayenna Ponchione-Bailey Violin - Jan Schmolck, Richard Milone, Rebecca Scott, Jessica O'Leary, Gregory Warren Wilson, Jake Rea Viola - Christopher Pitsillides, Rachel Byrt, Emma Sheppard Cello - John Heley, David Bucknall Double bass - Lynda Houghton Project Manager Cayenna Ponchione-Bailey Field Recordist Alice Chautard Producer Toby Young Post-production and Sound Design Limpet Space Race Mix Engineer Upcycled Sounds Sound Engineers Mike Hill and Upcycled Sounds Videographers Siobhán Cox and Ross Harrison Video Director and Editor Ross Harrison Lighting Engineer Paul Allen Set Designer Samantha Taylor Photographer Siobhán Cox